Economy

#**THE ECONOMY**




Satisfaction With U.S. Direction Reaches 12-Year High by Jim Norman on June 18, 2018!


>*STORY HIGHLIGHTS Satisfaction rate of 38% is highest since September 2005 Second month in a row above 35%, also for the first time since 2005 Satisfaction rises among Republicans and independents, not among Democrats WASHINGTON, D.C. --*



>*Thirty-eight percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the United States today, similar to last month's 37% satisfaction rate but marking the numerical high since a 39% reading in September 2005.*


>http://web.archive.org/web/20180618144506/https://news.gallup.com/poll/235739/satisfaction-direction-reaches-year-high.aspx



There are more jobs than people out of work, something the American economy has never experienced before




There are 6.7 million job openings and just 6.4 million available workers to fill them, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.




April marked the second month in a row that there were more vacancies than available hires, a phenomenon that had not happened before 2018.




Despite the mismatch, sizeable wage gains remain elusive, with average hourly earnings up just 2.7 percent over the past year.






Jeff Cox | @JeffCoxCNBCcom

Published 12:25 PM ET Tue, 5 June 2018  Updated 4:40 PM ET Tue, 5 June 2018
The jobs market has reached what should be some kind of inflection point: there are now more openings than there are workers.

April marked the second month in a row this historic event has occurred, and the gap is growing.

>*According to the monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey released Tuesday, there were just shy of 6.7 million open positions in April, the most recent month for which data are available. That represented an increase of 65,000 from March and is a record.*





>https://web.archive.org/web/20180609003644/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/05/there-are-more-jobs-than-people-out-of-work.html


U.S. adds 223,000 new jobs as unemployment falls to 18-year low in May!


By Jeffry Bartash

Published: June 1, 2018 10:25 a.m. ET

>*The numbers: The U.S. created a robust 223,000 new jobs in May to push unemployment down to an 18-year low of 3.8%, signaling that a nine-year-old economic expansion still has plenty of steam despite being one of the oldest ever.
The increase in hiring — the biggest in three months — exceeded the 200,000 forecast of economists polled by MarketWatch.
In an unusual and controversial move, President Trump foreshadowed the strong employment report in an early-morning tweet in which he said he looked forward to the May jobs figures. Investors took that to mean they should expect a good report.*




>http://archive.is/t7PeS


MAY 21, 2018



by Jim Norman



*"Sixty-seven percent of Americans believe that now is a good time to find a quality job in the U.S., the highest percentage in 17 years of Gallup polling. Optimism about the availability of good jobs has grown by 25 percentage points since Donald Trump was elected president."*



* [Gallup Poll](http://news.gallup.com/poll/234587/optimism-availability-good-jobs-hits-new-heights.aspx)



>>#*BET founder: Trump's economy is bringing black workers back into the labor force
The growing U.S. economy and improving business environment is bringing black workers back into the labor force, BET founder Robert Johnson tells CNBC.


"When you look at that, you have to say something is going right," Johnson says.


By Berkeley Lovelace Jr.| @BerkeleyJr Published 9:20 AM ET Fri, 6 April 2018  Updated 6:42 PM ET Fri, 6 April 2018


>>*"The growing U.S. economy and improving business environment is bringing black workers back into the labor force, BET founder Robert Johnson told CNBC on Friday.Johnson, the nation's first black billionaire, spoke before Friday's jobs report, which showed nonfarm payrolls rose 103,000 in March, falling well short of the 193,000 gain economist were expecting.*

>>*"In January, the Labor Department reported the unemployment rate among black workers was at its lowest since at least the early 1970s, when the government began tracking the data. The unemployment rate for black Americans spiked in January and then fell in February. The rate was unchanged in March at 6.9 percent. "When you look at that [January report], you have to say something is going right," said Johnson, a Democrat and founder and chairman of The RLJ Cos.*

>>*""You have to take encouragement from what's happening in the labor force and the job market," Johnson told "Squawk Box." "When you look at African-American unemployment, ... you've never had African-American unemployment this low and the spread between African-Americans and whites narrowing."Johnson said that means the jobs market is "soliciting employees who have been out of the labor force, some of it based on discrimination, some of it based on changes in education, access and technology changes."*

>>*"Additionally, the business environment in the U.S. is also good, Johnson said. "I believe if you take into account the Trump tax cut, you take into account the drop in unemployment, ... and you take into account that interest rates are fairly stable" the economy is going to grow, he said."I believe the economy is on a strong growth path," he added."*


>>#*Consumer confidence hits new 17-year high. By Michael Sheetz*

>>*"The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose to 129.5, the highest mark since the index hit 132.6 in November 2000. Economists polled by Reuters anticipated a decline to 124, after October registered 126.2."*

- archive.is/udMh9#selection-2433.0-2433.22
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>>#*Job-cut announcements in 2017 see lowest level since 1990, Challenger report says! by Chloe Aiello*

>>*"U.S. employers announced plans to cut 32,423 jobs in December, bringing the year's total to a low not seen since 1990, global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday."*

- archive.is/7kQtJ#selection-2415.0-2415.198

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>>#*Unemployment rate hit record low in 13 states this year! By Reid Wilson (11/17/17)*

>>*"In October, the unemployment rates in Alabama, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Washington all met or beat their lowest rates ever recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), according to the agency’s monthly report issued Friday."*

- archive.is/huATO#selection-1679.0-1685.1
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>>#* U.S. oil industry set to break record, upend global trade! By Liz Hamption

>>*" Surging shale production is poised to push U.S. oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day - toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago.

- archive.is/oF4hB
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>>#*U.S. Job Satisfaction Hits Its Highest Level Since 2005 by David Z. Morris (Sep 01, 2017)*

>>*"Almost 51% of American workers were satisfied with their jobs in 2016, according to new survey results from business research group The Conference Board. That’s a slight uptick from the 49.6% satisfaction rate found by a Conference Board survey for 2015, and the highest satisfaction rate since 2005."*

- archive.is/h8D7W#selection-1381.0-1393.47

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>>#*Hispanic unemployment at all-time low under Trump! by Julia Horowitz. December 8, 2017*

>>*"The Hispanic unemployment rate fell to 4.7% last month, down from 4.8%. Overall U.S. unemployment remained at 4.1%, a 17-year low. The Labor Department has unemployment data broken down by race and ethnicity dating back to 1973."*

- archive.is/LAeem#selection-1569.1-1575.114

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>>#*Black unemployment hits all-time low! by Patrick Gillespie (January 5, 2018: 11:00 AM ET)*

>>*"The unemployment rate for black Americans fell to 6.8% in December, the lowest level since at least 1972 when the Labor Department began tracking the figure. It marks a swift comeback for black workers, who suffered through extremely high unemployment during the Great Recession. Black unemployment peaked at 16.8% in March 2010, well above the peaks for other demographics."*

- archive.is/bYDiw#selection-1111.1-1111.29


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>>#*Dow rises 5,000 points in a year for the first time ever! Fred Imbert*

>>*"The Dow Jones industrial average just did something it has never done in its 121-year history. The 30-stock average is now up more than 5,000 points in a year, marking its biggest annual-points gain ever. This following a 200-point rally Monday which sent it to an all-time high."*

- archive.is/atYC5#selection-2493.0-2501.184

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>>#*Over 100 companies giving 'Trump Bonuses' after tax victory, 'tsunami building by: Paul Bedard Jan 4, 2018, 9:24 AM*

>>*"The number of companies offering employee bonuses, pay hikes, and increases in benefits in reaction to President Trump’s December tax reform victory is now over 100, with thousands of workers impacted and charities too."*

Lowe's to hand out bonuses, sweeten benefits amid tax cuts
By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Home improvement chain Lowe's Cos. says it's handing out bonuses of up to $1,000 for its more than 260,000 hourly employees, as it becomes the latest major employer to invest in its workers after Congress approved a tax cut that will help businesses.
The chain, based in Mooresville, North Carolina, also will be sweetening benefits for maternity and parental leave as well as offering adoption assistance for the first time.
With the change, Lowe's is now offering paid maternity and parental leave where full-time hourly and salaried employees will receive full pay for 10 weeks maternity and two weeks parental leave. Previously, pay for maternity leave was under the Lowe's short-term disability plan where full-time salaried employees received 100 percent of pay for six weeks and full-time hourly employees received 60 percent of base pay for six weeks, according to Jackie Pardini Hartzell, a company spokeswoman.
The bonuses, which will be given out to both part-time and full-time hourly workers across all its U.S. facilities including distribution centers, will be paid in addition to Lowe's long-standing, store-level bonus program.
http://archive.is/VkyFl#selection-2023.0-2075.223


- archive.is/cFCq5#selection-1101.0-1101.219
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>>#*Trump’s first-year jobs numbers were very, very good! by Philip Bump January 5 at 10:20 AM*

>>*"Relative to the figure from January in each president’s first year in office (excluding those presidents who took office after a death or resignation), Trump saw one of the biggest percentage-point drops in the unemployment rate. But we’re comparing first years here, and on that metric Trump consistently outperforms Obama."*

- archive.is/y2n7h#selection-1323.0-1323.52
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>>#*Manufacturing in the U.S. Just Accelerated to Its Best Year Since 2004 by:Katia Dmitrieva on 01/03/18*

>>*"U.S. manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest pace in three months, as gains in orders and production capped the strongest year for factories since 2004, the Institute for Supply Management said Wednesday."*

- archive.is/WyIVB#selection-2541.0-2541.214
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>>#*The Dow's 31% gain during Trump's first year is the best since FDR. By Fred Imbert January 18, 2017*

>>*"The Dow has surged more than 31 percent since Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017. That marks the index's best performance during a president's first year since Roosevelt. The Dow skyrocketed 96.5 percent during Roosevelt's first year in office."*

- http://archive.is/Ira54#selection-2433.0-2437.240
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U.S. jobless claims drop to near 45-year low! By Lucia Mutikani

>>**The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, dropping to its lowest level in nearly 45 years as the labor market tightened further, bolstering expectations of faster wage growth this year.**

* archive.is/UP29B

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